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Cuomo compares Weiner saga to a tragi-comedy

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo commented for the first time since the latest revelations about New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner’s sexting activities surfaced. Cuomo is still refusing to get dragged into the race, saying the recent events remind him of tragi-comic theater.

Cuomo won’t take a position on whether Weiner should drop out of the mayor’s race, as many of the governor’s fellow Democrats have demanded. Cuomo tried to downplay the recent news, calling it “summer political theater” in New York.

“We laugh because if we didn’t laugh, we would cry,” said Cuomo.

But while Cuomo says he won’t judge whether or not someone should run for political office, saying it’s an open democracy, he does say that who wins is very different.

“And that’s where the electorate comes in, and the responsibility of the electorate comes in,” said Cuomo. “That is a much different equation than who runs.”

Cuomo, perhaps foreshadowing an ultimate demise for Weiner, says “we are only in the opening act of this play, and we have a long way to go.”

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 public radio stations in New York State. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.